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July 22, 2016

QUENCH YOURSELF WITH THE BLOODTHIRSTY UNDEAD IN DAY BY
DAYARMAGEDDON: GHOST RUN!

The much anticipated fourth book in J.L. Bourne’s Day by
Day Armageddon series—an acclaimed military thriller series of the zombie
apocalypse—DAY BY DAY ARMAGEDDON: GHOST
RUN(Gallery Books; July 19, 2016; $16.00) is a sure bet for
fans of the smash hit show The Walking Dead, bringing all-new tales of the
zombie apocalypse! As a commissioned military officer with twenty years of
active military and intelligence community service behind him, J.L. delivers an
intelligent and suspenseful thriller that will terrify die-hard horror fans and
reinforce J.L. Bourne’s reputation as “the new king of hardcore zombie fiction”
(Brad Thor, New York Times bestselling author).

In a desperate bid to survive a world forever altered…as
the hordes of bloodthirsty undead now dominate the ravaged U.S. landscape…a Navy
commander on a reconnaissance mission for basic supplies stumbles upon an
incredible secret about the possibility of reversing the pandemic’s devastating
effects that have annihilated everything in its path. Now there’s no turning
back—with only his lifelong-honed skills and the aid of an extraordinary
construct, he leads a one-man rescue mission to find Task Force Phoenix and
humanity’s final hope. And the agonizing, split-second decisions he must make
along the way could mean living one more day—or surrendering to the eternal hell
that exists between life and death.

Praise for Ghost Run:

“Day by Day Armageddon:
Ghost Run is a deeply satisfying read for
any fan of survivalist horror, zombie fiction, or military heroes. With its
rousing pace and compelling narrator, it's best savored at a breathless sprint.
The only real surprise is how this series has reached its fourth installment
without a movie or TV deal being set in motion—it’s certainly cinematic enough
in its action-packed flourishes.”

—Criminal Element

An interview with J.L. Bourne:

J.L. Bourne’s interview with Survival
Punk will post on Wednesday, July 20th!

About the author:

J.L. Bourne is a
commissioned military officer and acclaimed author of the horror series Day by
Day Armageddon and the dystopian thriller Tomorrow War. With twenty years
of active military and intelligence community service behind him, J.L. brands a
realistic and unique style of fiction. He lives on the Gulf Coast but is
sometimes spotted toting a rifle and a Bowie knife in the rural hills of
Arkansas, where he grew up. Visit him at JLBourne.com, on Facebook at OfficialJLBourne, and on
Twitter @jlbourne…before
the grid goes dark.

Day by Day Giveaways!

Thursday and Friday of this week, bloggers will give away one bundle (one copy each of books 1-3) in the Day by Day Armageddon series. See the schedule below. You may enter all the giveaways, but you can only win once. U.S. only.

It was a lot of brainstorming. Once I
had the initial idea - what would happen if angels and demons lived among us -
it was a matter of figuring out what they were doing there. What had happened to
make it important for angels to be on earth? And what did the demons really
want? How did that fold up into a bigger conflict?

I really love building fantasy worlds, so my
favorite part was thinking about what the worlds of Glisten & Slag looked
like and how they had formed, then weaving in those elements into common world
history & mythology, like Atlantis. The guiding idea there is that the
demons, who thrive in chaos, are trying to figure out ways to control the
humans... and they've been doing it for hundreds of years. Angels believe that
humans should have free will and be free to make their own choices and their own
mistakes. So historical events we know were actually influenced by demons and
angels as they battle across The Field (Earth) in secret.

2.How did you come up with the names for the characters?

When I choose character names, I like to
think about how the name sounds when you say it. A name is a reflection of
identity and often kind of drives our destiny in a weird way. "Jim" is a
really unassuming name, while "Claire" sounds complex and layered. I think
that's a great representation of the characters themselves. Jim is used to being invisible at
the start of the book and doesn't expect that to change. Claire is always
thinking and overanalyzing situations.

3.How much are you and the characters alike?

I always write parts of myself into
characters, but then they take lives of their own. I'd say I'm a bit more like
Claire than Jim, especially because Claire is so observant and thoughtful about
what's happening around her. That also tends to drive her crazy as she learns
more about what she's supposed to do when she grows her wings.

4.Do you read a lot and what are you reading now?

I'm always reading! I try to keep
my literary diet really diverse. I'm just as likely to be reading a fantasy book
as I am to be reading a long history book about the mafia. The book that I
finished recently that I absolutely loved was Tales of the Dying Earth by
Jack Vance, which is a collection of Vance's fantasy writing. Cugel's Saga
in particular is just a mind-blowing adventure novel where you're
always encountering some new location or exotic species.

5. What made you decide to go Young adult?

I've always been drawn to the power
of the characters in young adult novels. The protagonists are usually learning
new things about themselves and always trying to uncover truths about the world
that, in a lot of cases, actual adults might be too jaded to see. There's also
the explosive power of first loves - and first losses - which offers a rich
emotional tapestry for the characters to explore as they find their place in the
world.

6. How did the cover come about?

I love the cover of Blest! I
think it does a great job at hinting at a lot of the secrets that get uncovered
as Jim and Claire figure out who they are... and what that means for their
families, their friends, their relationship and, ultimately, the
world.

7. So what is your next project and when is it due out?

I'm really excited about my next
project, The Amnesia Complex. It's a young adult adventure novel set in
the 2090s, so the not-to-distant future. The main character, Jade, is living on
a farm with her dad and her dad's friend. She's never been more than a mile away
from the farm and her dad tells her the rest of the world is totally destroyed
and dangerous. One day, a boy, Luke, shows up outside the farm with his parents.
I won't go into much more detail - I don't want to spoil anything - but let's
just say Jade and Luke embark on a crazy journey on their own to figure out what
actually happened to make the world the way it is.

I just finished it and now I'm
working to find an agent who can help publish & market it. But I'm hoping it
comes out next year!

8. Do you have a daytime job or are you a full time
writer?

During the day, I work for a
tech startup. I do a lot of writing for my job, too, so I'm always
writing.

9. How did you get into writing novels and were you worried about
peoples reactions to your books?

I've been writing for pretty much as long as I can remember. My
earliest "novels" were called Goosechicks and they were a total rip-off
of Goosebumps books but starring baby chickens. They had illustrations, too! I wrote them in 1st
grade. I think my dad still has one of them in the basement
somewhere.

10. One last thing do you collect anything
personally?

I do! I actually collect weird
watches. I like the idea that we've built machines just to keep track of "time"
as we know it. I try to limit myself to only getting new ones when I accomplish
a big goal... like publishing Blest! The watch I got for Blest is
called the Zinvo Blade and has a rotating second hand that looks like a
helicopter blade, like it's flying above the rest of the watch's face. I thought
that was appropriate, seeing as how Jim, Claire, and the rest of the angels and
demons do so much flying in Blest.

Thank you so much for stopping by our blog and letting us get to know you better.

July 21, 2016

Fall is my favorite time of year and
Halloween is my favorite holiday. I felt inspired to write, so I asked my
daughter to name a supernatural creature she wanted me to write a story about.
She suggested demons because they frighten her. Then I put myself in her shoes
and tried to think of what frightened me at her age (12 yrs old) and I
remembered stories classmates used to tell about a haunted cemetery that was
fifteen minutes away from my house. It was rumored that teens would go there and
worship Satan in the abandoned cemetery at nightfall. So I took the two concepts
and begancraftingthe
story.

2.How did you come up with the names
for the
characters?

Killian, the main demon hunter,
needed a strong name and I always associated that name with an Irish or Scottish
warrior. For the girl, I wanted a name that could shorten to a nickname but also
seemed good when paired with Killian, so Cassidy was chosen for the main
character. And Tyler Romaitis, I wanted a simple and trendy guy name that was
consistent with present day and the last name is homage to my Lithuanian
heritage, as most Lithuanian names end in “itis”.

3.How much are you and the characters
alike?

I am not much like any of them. I’m
more like Brogen from my Rarity book...a small number of close friends,
empathic, and nice till you cross me.

4.Do you read a lot and what are you
reading
now?

I read at
least one chapter each night, depending on how tired I am. I am currently
reading Pucked Up (not YA), and then will start A Thousand Boy Kisses by Tillie
Cole.

5. What made you decide to go Young
adult?

I really enjoy the YA genre. It’s a
time in life when people grow from child to adult and grow into who they are,
not who they are expected to be. There are so many emotions, so many firsts. The
trial and error of relationships, hearts broken and mended, friendships lost and
made, and a path to the future is now becoming clear. It was an amazing and
truly memorable time in my life, and I will also hold it with high regard.
Because I loved it and went through so much, I find it easy to tap into emotions
and write about that time in life.

6. How did the cover come
about?

I wish I could take credit for the
cover but the folks at Deranged Doctor Designs worked their magic and created
that masterpiece. I told them my plot, mood, and what I envisioned the
characters to look like and they came back to me with that cover. I almost
fainted when I saw it :> And then I wondered if my story did the book
justice. I mean, that’s an AMAZING cover.

7. So what is your next project and
when is it due
out?

I have a short story in the Detours
in our Destination Anthology that comes out May 2016. The anthology includes
stories of overcoming a hardship and rising above. I also have a short story in
the thriller anthology from Limitless Publishing, entitled 13, that comes out
this October. And finally, Within the Darkest Hollows, book 2 in the Demon
Hunter series is due out at the end of October.

8. Do you have a daytime job or are you
a full time
writer?

Full time writer and full time
mom.

9. How did you get into writing novels
and were you worried about peoples reactions to your
books?

My dental hygienist encouraged me to
write down a story about a time in my childhood when my family was going through
a difficult time and made it through with some help from strangers. The story of
their kindness was truly amazing and deserved to be shared, so I tried my hand
at writing and self-published the short tale. Turns out I really enjoyed writing
and kept at it.

Did I worry about people’s reactions? Not initially. I wrote the
story to tell it, hoping that people reading about kindness might encourage them
to want to be kind as well. But when I published Rarity with Limitless
Publishing, I worried about readers’ reactions. It wasn’t just about me anymore,
a company believed my story was worth supporting and I worried that if it didn’t
do well, they wouldn’t consider future
stories.

Now I have some confidence with
writing and have a few books under my belt so I worry less about reviews, and
more about just putting forward my best effort. I enjoy writing and it’s
important to remember that and stay true to writing for that reason. Honestly, I
am too close to the stories to know how they will be perceived. When I finished
BTBW, I reread it and said “Holy cow, that’s actually really good. I wonder if
other people will think that too?” That was my only guide on the quality of my
work...I liked it and enjoyed reading it.

10. One last thing do you collect
anything
personally?

Rocks. Lol. I love cool looking
rocks. When we go to the beach, I walk the shoreline and pick rocks, then add
them to my garden. My kids come home from school with pockets full of rocks and
I convince them to add them to our plants or garden.

Thank you to D.A for stopping by the
blog and letting us get to know her better.. Review to come.

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About Me

This site is ran and owned by Lora with help from Cindi and Makayla and the students of Franklin High school in OHio. We take our fight for illiteracy seriously! If you would like for us to review and donate your book to Franklin High school Just email us at chaarmedone1512@aol.com